The importance of making science understandable to decision-makers and the need to find a coordinated voice for science were the main messages of the opening lecture at ICES Annual Science Conference on Monday.

Published:
16 September 2014

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​​​​Dr. Luis Valdés, Head Ocean Sciences at the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) and former Spanish delegate to ICES, emphasized in his talk the increasing need for scientists to cooperate with different stakeholders.

"Policy makers depend on us. We need to make science understandable to those who make decisions, " he said.

He pointed out that several international instruments and science‐policy interfaces have already been agreed such as the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the UN World Ocean Assessment (WOA), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Valdés underlined that the nature of the main ocean‐related scientific problems of our time are interdisciplinary, involving natural and social sciences, and that these need to be addressed on a global scale through extensive international cooperation. He invited the ICES community and ASC participants to get involved with existing collaborative programmes, such as Future Earth (ICSU) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals​, which provide the ground to establish new large international research programmes.

He added that there are lot of partners to work with, and that there is a need to understand our landscape, moving from clusters to co-operation in order to find a harmonious voice for oceanic sustainability.